Recipe system

Abstract

In one aspect, a method for guiding one or more users through steps of a recipe is described. A recipe is obtained. One or more users are identified. A cooking proficiency of each of the users is determined. A sequence of cooking steps is determined based on the recipe and the cooking proficiency of the users. The sequence is transmitted to one or more appliances. Various implementations involve appliances, devices, systems and software that relate to the above method.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for automatically guiding one or more users through steps of a recipe, the method comprising:
 obtaining a recipe;   identifying one or more users that are involved in a cooking session using the recipe;   determining a cooking proficiency of each of the users;   determining a first sequence of cooking steps based on the recipe and the cooking proficiency of the one or more users; and   transmitting the first sequence to one or more appliances.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 monitoring progress of an implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps at the one or more appliances. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising:
 during the monitoring operation, detecting a condition in the implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps; and 
 adjusting the first sequence of cooking steps to generate a second sequence of the cooking steps wherein the second sequence takes into account the detected condition. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein a difference between the first sequence of cooking steps and the second sequence of cooking steps involves one or more of: 1) an order of the cooking steps; 2) which steps are done in parallel; and 3) which user is performing each cooking step. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the condition is one or more of 1) a problem in the implementation of one of the cooking steps; 2) a failure of a user to complete one of the cooking steps within an estimated time period; 3) an appearance of another user to help with the implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps; and 4) completion of one of the cooking steps in a shorter period of time than an estimated time period. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining an estimated completion time for one or more of the cooking steps wherein the estimated completion time is based at least in part on the cooking proficiency. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the first sequence of cooking steps indicates a plurality of steps used to carry out the recipe; 
 each of the plurality of steps is associated with an estimated completion time, an appliance instruction, a dependency indicator and an active/passive indicator wherein the dependency indicator indicates whether the step is required to follow another one of the steps and wherein the active/passive indicator indicates whether active user participation is required in order to complete the step; and 
 an order of cooking steps in the first sequence is based on the estimated completion time and the active/passive indicator. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the determining of the cooking proficiency of each of the users further comprises:
 identifying each of the users; and 
 obtaining data associated with each identified user that indicates one of: 1) time previously needed by the identified user to perform a cooking step; and 2) whether the identified user has previously performed one of the cooking steps correctly. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining whether a user performed one of the cooking steps properly; 
 updating a cooking proficiency estimate for the user based on the cooking step performance determination; and 
 storing the cooking proficiency estimate at a coordinating device that is coupled with the one or more appliances. 
 
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 obtaining, at a device, a recipe including a plurality of cooking steps wherein not all of the plurality of cooking steps are necessary to implement the recipe;   selecting a first subset of the cooking steps that are sufficient to implement the recipe wherein one or more of the plurality of cooking steps are not selected;   determining a first sequence of the selected cooking steps; and   transmitting the first sequence of cooking steps to one or more appliances.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 identifying one or more users that are involved in a cooking session using the recipe; and 
 determining a cooking proficiency of each of the users wherein the selection of the subset is based at least in part on the determined cooking proficiency. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 monitoring progress of an implementation of the first sequence; 
 detecting a condition in the implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps; and 
 adjusting the first sequence of cooking steps to generate a second sequence of the cooking steps wherein the second sequence takes into account the detected condition. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 selecting a second subset of the cooking steps based on the detected condition wherein: 
 the second subset of the cooking steps is different from the first subset; and 
 the second sequence includes the second subset of cooking steps. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein a difference between the first sequence of cooking steps and the second sequence of cooking steps involves one or more of: 1) an order of the cooking steps; 2) which steps are done in parallel; and 3) which user is performing each cooking step. 
     
     
         15 . A computer readable storage medium including executable computer code embodied in a tangible form wherein the executable computer code is operable to perform the method of  claim 10 . 
     
     
         16 . A device comprising:
 at least one processor;   at least one memory including a computer readable storage medium that includes computer code stored in a tangible form wherein the computer code, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the device to:   obtain a recipe;   identify one or more users that are involved in a cooking session using the recipe;   determine a cooking proficiency of each of the users;   determine a first sequence of cooking steps based on the recipe and the cooking proficiency of the one or more users; and   transmit the first sequence to one or more appliances.   
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 16  wherein the computer code, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the device to:
 monitor progress of an implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps at the one or more appliances. 
 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 17  wherein the computer code, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the device to:
 during the monitoring operation, detect a condition in the implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps; and 
 adjust the first sequence of cooking steps to generate a second sequence of the cooking steps wherein the second sequence takes into account the detected condition. 
 
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18  wherein a difference between the first sequence of cooking steps and the second sequence of cooking steps involves one or more of: 1) an order of the cooking steps; 2) which steps are done in parallel; and 3) which user is performing each cooking step. 
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 18  wherein the condition is one or more of 1) a problem in the implementation of one of the cooking steps; 2) a failure of a user to complete one of the cooking steps within an estimated time period; 3) an appearance of another user to help with the implementation of the first sequence of cooking steps; and 4) completion of one of the cooking steps in a shorter period of time than an estimated time period.